1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus with display and an image display apparatus, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus with display and an image display apparatus in which a horizontally long display is provided in a main body.
2. Description of the Related Arts
There has been known a digital camera in which an image taken by an image sensor such as a CCD is converted into digital data to be stored in a memory. A display such as an LCD is provided in a rear surface of a camera body of the digital camera. The display functions as an electronic viewfinder for through-displaying a live image of a subject in a taking mode, while it reproduces and displays the recorded images read out from the memory in a reproducing mode.
The camera body is downsized and becomes thinner with the spread of the digital camera; meanwhile, a display screen is getting larger in order to enhance the visibility and to display a powerful image. When the display screen is larger, it occupies more area on a rear surface of the camera body inevitably, so that a grip space for holding the camera body must get smaller relatively. When the camera body is held tightly, the display screen is partially covered by the hand holding the camera body. Accordingly, despite the large display screen, a part of the image is not watched.
In order to solve the above problem, in the camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-289484, the recorded image is displayed on the entire display screen in the reproducing mode, while the image to be taken in the taking mode is displayed slightly smaller than the image in the reproducing mode, so that a part of the display screen used as a grip will become a blank area on which the image is not displayed.
This type of cameras have a camera body of approximately rectangular solid shape are usually a horizontal type. In the horizontal type of camera, horizontally long posture in which the camera body is laid down so as to approximately correspond the longitudinal direction of the camera body to the horizontal direction is normal posture. The normal posture of the camera body is posture in which the image having normal aspect ratio (horizontal to vertical ratio) of 4:3 for example, can be taken in the horizontally long posture (a so-called horizontal position). In such a horizontal type camera, in the taking mode one end in the horizontal direction of the camera body is grasped so as to be wrapped by one hand, and then held. Additionally, since the camera body is horizontally long, the other end is easily held by another hand, and the camera body can be held stably by both hands.
In the horizontal type camera, since a left side end portion of the camera body viewed from the front side is a grip position, a grip space is positioned in the right side as viewed from the rear surface. Accordingly, the blank area is set in the right side of the display screen, and the display size of the image becomes smaller than the size of the entire display screen. The image is displayed on the upper left side of the display screen. In the reproducing mode, the image can be reproduced in a state that the camera body is put on a table or on the hand, so that it is unnecessary to ensure the grip space as in the taking mode, and the recorded image is displayed on the entire display screen. Thereby, it is possible to watch the powerful images on the large-sized screen.
According to the market research conducted recently by the present assignee, the camera body is more often held with one hand as it is getting smaller and thinner, and the research shows that a vertical type of camera in which the normal posture is a vertically long (the longitudinal direction of the camera body approximately corresponds to the vertical direction) can be held more stably than the horizontal type which is conventionally used. The reason for that is considered as follows. When the camera body is held with one hand, a side end portion in the horizontal direction of the camera body is gripped to hold the horizontal type camera; meanwhile, a lower portion of the camera body is gripped to hold the vertical type camera. Thereby, the camera body is easily held at a position near the barycentric position of the camera body, so that fluctuation of the camera body is prevented.
Although the vertical type is easier to hold than the horizontal type in the taking mode, the camera body of the vertical type is narrower than the horizontal type, and makes it difficult to increase the width of the display. The display size is not a serious problem in the taking mode in which the display is used for framing; however, it should be as large as possible in order to show visually appealing images in the reproducing mode.
When the image having the horizontally long aspect ratio is displayed on the display screen of the camera or the image display apparatus having the horizontally long display, and if the display direction is fixed in these camera and apparatus, it is impossible to correspond to the change of the posture of the apparatus body, it is inconvenient in many cases.